There have been a series of avalanches, one fatal, with a return to wintery conditions in the French Alps over the last 10 days.

We focus a lot on avalanches and avoidance but they are not the only danger in the mountains.

A 27 year old ski tourer, local to the area, has been killed climbing below the North side of the Col des Gourses (2550 meters) in the Deux Alpes ski area by a slab avalanche.

The body of a skier was recovered from the slopes of Mont Tabor (2389 meters), near Grenoble, this morning. He had left on his own for a ski tour on Saturday.

A 44 year old woman has been killed by an avalanche in the Combe de Barmerousse not far from the aiguille de Varan (2544m) in the commune of Passy near Chamonix. The avalanche occurred around 12h30.

A climber has been killed in the Hautes-Alpes in the commune of Châteauroux-les-Alpes following a natural avalanche on the ice-fall he was climbing.

A ski tourer has been killed by an avalanche on the Pic Blanc du Galibier. It is the second fatality in the sector this winter.

A family out snowshoeing in the woods behind Val d'Isère this afernoon had an extremely lucky escape today after being hit by an avalanche in the Coves sector towards la Daille.

A lone ski tourer has been killed by an avalanche in the Luz Ardiden ski area, currently closed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The avalanche situation continues to be sensitive with two further deaths and a number of other skier triggered slides today.